What is Ground Zero? What the World Trade Center site looks like today
The place that the Twin Towers used to occupy, now known as Ground Zero, has been developed into a memorial for the tragedy.
On this day, 23 years ago, four planes were hijacked by 19 terrorists. Two of them deliberately hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the third targeted the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
The area with the greatest number of casualties was the Big Apple. Of the almost 3,000 lives claimed by the attack, about 92% belonged to New York City, where the main objective was located: the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
The Twin Towers were built by Japanese architect Minoru Yamasaki, opening their doors to the public in 1973. The project consisted of two skyscrapers more than 1,300 feet tall, composed of 110 floors each.
The towers were the emblematic figure of the World Trade Center, a complex made up of seven buildings at that time. They were considered the living representation of the financial world in New York.
After the attack, the place occupied by the Twin Towers was renamed “Ground Zero”.
What the World Trade Center site looks like today
Ground Zero is the place where the Twin Towers were built. Currently, the site is a commemorative space that has several monuments built to pay tribute to the victims of the attack.
Two fountains were built that sink towards the ground to represent the void left by the attack. These fountains are known as the 9/11 Memorial, since the names of the almost 3,000 victims are engraved around them. The fountains were inaugurated as part of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in 2011.
In addition to the fountains with the names of the victims, the Memorial Museum was also built, which is where photographs of the buildings, items that were found in the rubble, and pieces that were part of the building are exhibited.
At Ground Zero the One World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, was also built. The building, which currently represents the main WTC complex, opened its doors in 2014. Today, it is considered the tallest skyscraper in the western hemisphere and the seventh tallest in the world.
In 2016, the Oculus Station was opened- a subway station located a few meters from the Memorial Museum. Through this, 11 different metro lines are connected, and it also allows underground access to the main towers of the WTC. It has a shopping center and a wide variety of restaurants inside.
The design of Oculus Station represents a bird being released by the hand of a child, as revealed by the architect of the work, Santiago Calatrava.